In der deutschen Ein­wan­de­rungs­poli­tik soll­te eine durch­dachte Komponente de­zen­traler Lenkung implementiert werden, in­klu­sive freiwilligen Mat­ching- und An­reiz­sys­temen und dem Ziel der Stabilisierung schrumpfender Regionen. Sub­ven­tionen, Mo­dell­projek­te und ein Bun­des­gesetz für ein Hochskalieren der guten Praxis wären hier­für er­for­der­lich.

Siehe auch:
https://ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de/handle/ediss/11275

und:

https://www.christopherstark.de/promotion-dissertation/

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Motivation and determination of the topic:
The Federal Republic of Germany lacks an effective stra­tegy to stabilize regions facing long-term demo­graphic and struc­tu­ral decline. At the same time, the influx of immigrants from abroad and re­settle­ment to these regions is seen as a possible solution to mitigate demographic change. However, most immigrants move to big cities and the few existing policies for spatial control of immi­gra­tion only apply to refugees. These policies are under­deve­loped and usually fail to serve the interests of the affected individuals or meet the needs of local authorities and regions.

Methods:
This work consolidates pertinent literature of international good practices con­ceiving of decentralized immigration policies. Also qualitative explorative methods are utilized and examined to measure individual preferences of immigrants. This involves rating photographs depicting various places, towns or villages, as well as marking preferred regions on maps. Further methods encom­pass quantitative sur­veys and focus group discussions. These are aimed at questions regar­ding accep­tance for the reception of immigration within the specified target regions, also regar­ding poten­tial matching- and incentive sys­tems as well as home office working models. Geo­graphic infor­mation systems (GIS) are employed to gene­rate indicators for a mat­ching system.

Results:
An immigration policy in Germany with a partly decentralized approach can help to stabilize shrinking regions. This can be made possible by implementing a multi-stage matching system that works with comprehensible indicators. For trans­pa­rency towards civil society functioning without help of complex algorithms; also considering indi­vidual preferences to enhance the prospects of immigrants staying in their chosen locations. Among respon­dents residing in the target regions, one ques­ti­on­naire revealed that 61% were found to be supportive of initiatives aimed at facili­tating the settlement of immigrants in their hometowns, under various con­di­tions. The approval rates of potential incentive systems such as tax reliefs, subsidies for the reconstruction and renovation of vacant housing and other systems ranged from 52% to 71% among the surveyed immigrants. Furthermore, the possibility for immi­grants to work remo­tely from home offices in the target regions was inves­ti­gated, resulting in an overall positive feedback rate of 58% among surveyed small and medium-sized em­ployers in the service sector.

Conclusions and recommendations:
It is recommended that German immigration policy integrates voluntary decentralized distribution components. These involve estab­lishing a matching and an incentive system aimed at stabilizing shrinking regions, parti­cularly small and medium-sized towns. Implementing such a policy would require the provi­sion of subsidies, the establishment of pilot projects, and the enact­ment of federal legislation to scale up successful initiatives.